We are the Church: The Centrality of Christ

Introduction to 1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians 1 We are the Church: The Centrality of Christ HCC Apr, 2017

The Church: Connecting the dots The end: Revelations 19 The beginning: Acts 2

What about the middle? How do we actually be the church?

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. -1 Peter 2:9 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden - Matt 5:14

Teaching us how to be the church https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/first-corinthians

https://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/cn092maps1.htm

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. Acts 18:1-4 ~ AD 50 (Acts 18, 18 months) -> ~AD 55 (1 Cor)

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 1 Cor 1:4-7

Getting to the core

1 Corinthians 1: Christ is our core

1 Cor 1: We are the Church The Centrality of Christ 1. Who? We follow Christ 2. What? We preach Christ 3. Why? We honor Christ

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, I follow Paul ; another, I follow Apollos ; another, I follow Cephas ; still another, I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Cor 1: 10-13

Is Christ divided? http://www.sabbathcog.org/booklets/thattheymaybeone7.htm

Jews Greeks http://www.theyouthministryblog.com/2014/09/cliques-are-sinful/

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 1 Cor 12:12-13

You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. John 13:13-16

1 Cor 1: We are the Church The Centrality of Christ 1. Who? We follow Christ 2. What? We preach Christ 3. Why? We honor Christ

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 1 Cor 1:22-25

We preach Christ crucified Hands that flung stars into space To cruel nails surrendered Our propitiation The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Counter-cultural Jews Greeks

What is the Church without Jesus? "Religion provides community. It provides them with friends. It provides them with psychological support and economic support. It provides a lot more than simply an understanding of where they are in the world in relation to the afterlife." http://www.npr.org/2017/04/28/525895389/why-religion-is-more-durable-than-we-thought-in-modern-society

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 1 Cor 15:14

Kimberli Lira Melchor Lira https://kimberlilira.blogspot.com/2017/03/why-church-doesnt-need-anymore-coffee.html

My husband endured cycle after cycle of chemo And he never said how much he appreciated the coffee bar at the church. Never once did he say he loved the lighting in the sanctuary. He never told me how cool it was that they put a couch on the platform. He didn't boast of the graphics and props on the platform. He talked about Jesus. He quoted scriptures. He reminded me of sermons we had heard. And in the middle of the night he sang songs of praise and worship to God and he spent his time praying. Because nothing a church does to strategize to bring in members helps you in the time of the storm. It is only Jesus. Why the Church Doesn t Need Anymore Coffee Bars, Feb 2017

In everything that is done, we need to make sure that Jesus is at the center. It is a also a reminder that there are hurting people sitting in your congregation. There are people whose marriages are crumbling, people whose finances are deteriorating, people whose children are rebelling and people like me, whose husband has passed away after a brutal fight with cancer. And these people are not impressed with the stage lighting. They could care less about the coffee flavor. They don't need to be pumped or hyped. They need and are desperate for Jesus. Why the Church Doesn t Need Anymore Coffee Bars, Feb 2017

Knowing Jesus personally 1 2 God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life Man is sinful and separated from God 3 Jesus is God's only provision for man's sin 4 We must receive Jesus as Savior and Lord to know and experience God

1 Cor 1: We are the Church The Centrality of Christ 1. Who? We follow Christ 2. What? We preach Christ 3. Why? We honor Christ

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. Therefore, as it is written: Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 1 Cor 1:27-29, 31

So that no one may boast

Q. What is the chief end of man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. The Westminster Shorter Catechism 1 1

What makes a successful church? Is it the same as what makes a successful organization?

http://leadnet.org/world/

Counter cultural Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth Matt 5

The Lord said to Gideon, You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, My own strength has saved me. - Judges 7:2 My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. That is why, for Christ s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Cor 12:9,10

1 Cor 1: We are the Church The Centrality of Christ 1. Who? We follow Christ Is Christ divided? 2. What? We preach Christ We preach Christ crucified 3. Why? We honor Christ So that no one may boast

How do we be the church? First and always, by knowing Christ and what He did for us

What about you? What role does Christ play in your life? How can you be the body of Christ?